Blanket ad suspension snuffs out Juul CMO Craig Brommers

The firm abruptly scrapped its first ever CMO post after opting to suspend all broadcast, print and digital advertising for its US products as the struggling vaping provider battles to keep its business alight amid a ban on e-cigarette ads imposed by CNN, TNT, TBS, Viacom and CBS.

A former CMO at Gap and a senior marketing executive at Abercrombie & Fitch, Brommers fell victim to a radical reorganisation at Juul amid a Federal Trade Commission investigation into its marketing, a proposed ban on the firms lead products and concern over the emergence of a vaping-related illness.

The FTC is also looking at whether Juul specifically employed influencers and other marketing tools in a bid to appeal to minors.

In a statement a Juul spokesman wrote: “Craig Brommers, an incredibly talented marketing executive, has asked to transition out of Juul Labs in the coming months so that he can pursue opportunities with other companies.”

Juul has been swept up in an industry-wide blanket warning to cease use of all vaping products although no specific connection has been made between the illness and Juul’s products.

The American Lung Association has previously warned of the dangers of vaping in a series of hard hitting ads.